Furniture to Fashion

In MILIEU's continuing series combining furniture and fashion, we focus here on an emblematic fabric from Romo, a leader in textiles. We chose the material to cover two art deco bergères and to outfit a young lady in a perfect party dress.

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Romo’s Ilsa Camellia fabric, with its bright pink leaves and clementine-colored blossoms, is perfect for a girl
astride a Vespa or seated on a French 1920s art deco bergère.

Once we at MILIEU saw its playful versatility, we couldn’t resist experimenting with one of Romo Ltd.’s signature fabrics — the Ilsa Camellia.

A bold, outright fun design that explodes with color inspired by Matisse’s vivid cutouts, this soft linen-cotton adds infinite interest to two French 1920s art deco bergères we found at an antiques shop and a delightful summer frock we had custom made for a young model. MILIEU recognized that the traditional floral pattern was made delightfully modern and fresh, and the fabric, which retains a slight slub effect, perfectly rejuvenates a vintage piece of furniture, so much so that it affects the way you might sit on it. And anyone young at heart will love a summer dress made from this motif featuring vibrantly scaled flowers decorating graceful but hardy branches.

Invention, enthusiasm, and dedication have long been the watchwords of this 112-year-old family business, now in its fifth generation. It began in 1902, when Robert Mould, an upholsterer, opened a notions shop in Nottinghamshire, England, giving his name to what would become a global empire of highly coveted fabrics, upholstery, wall-coverings, and accessories.